Bhubaneswar Authority eyes expansion to boost 'smart city' dream

If BDA's latest plan materializes, a land bank of around 4,000 acres will be created within its area for the establishment of high-end health institutions, centres of education, commercial complexes and housing projects.Riyan Ramanath V | TNN | August 03, 2015, 08:23 IST

BHUBANESWAR: The Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) has embarked upon a project to expand the city, ensure organized growth and improve healthcare and education. The new expansion will be designed sector-wise so that, in future, the city can acquire the tag of 'smart city'.

If BDA's latest plan materializes, a land bank of around 4,000 acres will be created within its area for the establishment of high-end health institutions, centres of education, commercial complexes and housing projects. The BDA will create the land bank under its Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP) by taking control of government land, for which it has already submitted applications. According to official sources, BDA will take land from the general administration (GA) and revenue departments.

"As part of CDP, we will create a land bank. This will help us develop a modernized city where all sorts of facilities can be planned. Since the city has been expanding, and top health institutions want to come here, it will be easy for us to provide them land in a planned manner. This will also help us create a new composite cluster of development," said BDA vice-chairman Krishan Kumar.

The city, currently housing nearly a million people, turned 67 this year. The BDA authorities are planning to make Bhubaneswar capable of accommodating another million people. In April, it had come up with a mega-plan of developing townships on the outskirts of the city. The BDA had identified 745 acres of land, comprising Naragoda, Sahajpur, Sijuput and Paikarapur villages, on the outskirts for the project.

Senior architect Sanjib Guru said the creation of a land pool would help the authorities plan a city that will grow bigger in terms of population and space in the next 20 years. "Ahmedabad created a land pool and later divided it among modern townships. Since Bhubaneswar is a strong contender for 'smart city' tag, I think this scheme will go a long way in building a planned city," he said. Guru said the city saw random development till 2012 as the BDA would approve plans wherever a developer wanted to construct apartments. With the CDP in place, it can hope to see planned growth.